


A Half-Blood Detective

by Astre_Red



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Gen, Kunikida Doppo is a demigod
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:54:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24840367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astre_Red/pseuds/Astre_Red
Summary: Kunikida Doppo is considered by most as a very professional person. He doesn't have huge secrets or dark backgrounds or hidden powers. The idea itself is ridiculous. If you were to ask his colleagues, Kunikida is, if not for his ability, a normal human.At least that's what he wants you to believe.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 154
Collections: Identity Crisis





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Reaper in Disguise](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19832161) by [Ducarion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ducarion/pseuds/Ducarion). 



Kunikida Doppo is born the 30th august during a terribly warm day. He's a healthy baby, with golden hair and with very good lungs, as the nurses soon find out. They wince, but his mother laughs and craddles him in her arms.

There is no man beside her, but the sun shines gently on them.

* * *

Kunikida is a serious boy. He grows up loved by his mother, but his lack of father grants him a lot of strange and pitying, sometimes even disgusted looks. It would be a lie to say that he doesn't care, but frankly, his mother is enough. Together, they sing and dance under the shining sun.

The second he knows how to hold a pen, he draws until his hand hurt. He draws and plays instruments and sings without ever learning how to. It is almost unnatural.

His mother smiles sadly.

* * *

On his birthday, his mother gifts him a strange golden knife. When she sees his confused face, she hums softly and ruffles his hair.

“Just in case.” she says, and doesn't elaborate.

He frowns, but takes it.

* * *

Kunikida is smart, but that doesn't mean he is without problems.

He is a child without a father - _bastard son_ , the children whisper without understanding its meaning, they just listen to what their parents say- and has ADHD and dyslexia. His teachers aren't really helping, and consider him more trouble than he's worth.

His mother rages, and ends up teaching him. She is a better teacher than the ones he had, and he takes a liking to mathematics and poetry because of her.

His dyslexia is still a problem, but he is stubborn. He will not let this fact dictate his life.

* * *

He is seven when a monster kills his mother.

By then, he already suspected that something was off with him. It was the sun maybe, this bright light that never seemed to burn him no matter how long he stayed under it. Or maybe it's the words, the lyrics and how easily they came to him.

So when he comes home one day to find a snake-like monster playing with his mother's unconscious body, he is far more horrified than surprised.

He grabs the golden knife and stabs the monster in the neck. The snake dissolves, and he kneels in front of his mother, trying and failing to find the words.

His mother shushes him, her eternal smile still on her face despite the amount of blood she is slowly losing.

“Oh, my little sun, I wish we had more time.”

She is dying, but she uses her last strength to guide her son.

Kunikida Doppo runs away with a bag of food and water, his knife clenched in his fist and tears falling from his eyes.

He doesn't look back.

* * *

It takes a few months of living and hiding in the streets, but he finally manages to find a wandering satyre willing to bring him to Camp Half-Blood. By then, his eyes are cold and serious, almost desperate, and scars are carefully hidden behind his torn clothes.

He hasn't sang or drawn since almost a year.

Soon, he is in a plane heading to New York, and he can't help but feel empty, if only a little.

* * *

Camp Half-Blood is strange. Kunikida is not the only japanese demigod, which is a relief, but it feels foreign. He's safe, and doesn't need to be on guard, and he's not sure how to take it.

He arrives in the morning with the sun, and Chiron smiles at him. The centaur takes him aback, but he manages a small nod. It's not a smile, but it's something.

The day passes. He's good with bows, better with drawing and writing and atrocious at gardening. He still doesn't smile, but he's not tense anymore.

The dinner comes, and suddenly a bright light appears above him. Chiron and the others demigods kneel, and he almost freaks out until the centaur speaks.

“Hail, Doppo Kunikida, Son of the Sun God!”

Will Solace, almost twenty years old and his older brother, walks up to him with a warm smile and holds out his hand. Slowly, Kunikida takes it, and smiles back.

* * *

He comes back to Japan, because he wants to have a life outside of this world of monsters and gods. His siblings agree, even though Will frowns slightly and gives him his phone number and a warm hug.

“Just in case.” he explains, hands in hands with his boyfriend, “Don't hesitate to send us an Iris Message. I'll be in Italy with Nico, but we'll come if you need us.”

“It'd be a good trip.” the son of Hades says, before adding : “Try not to die.”

Will elbows him hard, but Kunikida nods and almost smiles.

* * *

The monsters come for him, of course.

He fights and fights and studies mathematics and poetry despite his dyslexia. His knife is always tucked under his jacket, and when he can get away with it, his bow is carefully hidden in a guitar's box.

_I will live._ He thinks as he stabs a monster with a snake tongue -snakes are always hungry for Apollo's offsprings- multiples times in the heart after it interrupted his revisions. _I refuse to let my blood dictate my life._

* * *

During his thirteenth birthday, he finds a notebook on his bed. There's a note with it, a writing too delicate to be that of a human's.

_Happy Birthday._

He smiles an cries a little.

* * *

He is fifteen when his ability manifests.

Ironically, it's not because of a monster or of any greeks creatures. It's a normal boring day in high school, and a man is trying to rob him.

He's yelling, which attracts curious and worried looks from passers-by. It's obvious that the man is drunk, and he's holding a knife in such a sloppy and unpracticed way that it makes Kunikida cringe, unimpressed.

The student is holding his notebook, and he writes almost mechanically in it, waiting for the cops to show up. Maybe it's because of his terrible fighting stance, but Kunikida finds himself writing about how terrible it is and how he should be holding his knife in one hand instead of two.

The word ナイフ (knife) is barely finished before it starts to glow. Incredulous, he watches his words come to life as the small knife falls on his lap.

The robber freezes, before an expression of pure terror appears on his face. He turns and runs away, screaming.

“An ability user!”

Kunikida blinks.

_A what?_

* * *

An ability user, Chiron explains after Kunikida called him panicked, is someone with a special power possessed by no one else.

“Like half-bloods?” Will asks, brows furrowed, but Chiron shakes his head.

“No, ability users are completely mortals. Actually, I don't think there are any demigods with abilities. You may be the first one, Doppo.”

_You say that like it's a good thing._ He thinks but doesn't say. Instead, he sighs and goes back to his revisions.

The following summer, Will and Nico come to help him with his new-found power. The two men are married now, and are ones of the oldest half-bloods in the world at twenty-six and twenty-seven.

His brother-in-law asks once during dinner.

“Do you have any idea for a name?”

Kunikida pauses, and thinks of his mother and how her voice reciting poems made him feel so special and loved.

“Lone Poet.” he says, and the others demigods smile.

* * *

He's eighteen when he meets Fukuzawa Yukichi and Edogawa Ranpo.

He's in college and works as a cram school tutor for maths, working part-time on the weekends. He has a small apartment in Yokohama. Monsters still come after him, but when compared to the once-a-week monster from when he was fourteen, the once-a-month that comes to eat him is easy to manage.

He's leaving his class when he sees the man watching him. His first thought is _Monster_ , and he grips the pocket hiding his knife. His notebook is tucked under his arm, and when a fellow classmate points the man he lets it fall in his hand.

Just in case.

He's reluctant to approach this stranger, but the choice is taken from him when a boy a few years older than him jumps in front of him with a carefree smile.

“So you're the mysterious ability user!”

Kunikida blinks, taken aback.

“What?”

It turns out that they are not monsters but others ability users, like him. Apparently they're a lot in Yokohama, the town that attracts them. Kunikida wonders if this is why monsters avoid this place : he's been a lot less attacked since he moved here.

They want him to join the Armed Detective Agency.

“Let me think about it.” he finally says, because while he is interested he's also suspicious -he hasn't ruled out the possibility of them being monsters- and only eighteen.

He calls Will and explains the situation.

“I heard about them.” Nico says, thoughtful “Especially of Fukuzawa. A lot of ghosts are in Hell thanks to him.”

“How reassuring.” Will sighs, worried about his little brother. The rainbow makes it a pretty funny image, but Kunikida is too used to it to laugh.

“Well, he hasn't killed in a while, so I think you're good. Still, if things get out of hand, call us and I'll use Shadow Travel to get you out.”

“But not too much, don't get tired.” Kunikida frowns.

Nico groans and mumbles something about Apollo's children and healers while his husband laughs and ruffles his husband's hair.

* * *

Fukuzawa offers to teach him martial arts, and he accepts.

It's the first time he's beaten by a normal human, and he's in awe, at least that's what Ranpo says.

Monsters come less and less, and now Kunikida is almost certain there's something about this town that keeps them away like in Camp Half-Blood. It's a good thing, because explaining why he randomly disappears when he sees a monster so that he can kill it away was getting harder.

He officially joins once he's twenty and drops out of college. There's a party, and when he comes home Nico and Will are waiting for him.

“Be careful.” his older brother says as Nico searches something in his fridge.

“Aren't you supposed to be in Italy?” Kunikida says, resigned.

“Well, we couldn't not celebrate you getting your first job!”

Will's eyes are full of mirth. Kunikida sighs, but lets a smile appear on his face.

The sun is bright the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some members notice things

Nakajima Atsushi never saw his senior, Kunikida Doppo, looking terrified.

Of course, Kunikida can be frightening when he needs to be, and gets angry rather easily -especially with Dazai- which is, sadly, often. He saw him looking worried, even apprehensive, but never outright scared.

Until that day.

Atsushi comes to Kunikida's appartment to ask him about training. He is one of the few who doesn't live in the Agency's dormitories, though nobody knows why. The older man is usually at home during week-ends, or at least that's what Kenji said. But when Atsushi cautiously opens the door, he is surprised to find no one here. The door was left unlocked, so Kunikida musn't be far away.

It's when something on the table catches his attention, and the were-tiger blinks.

It's a small cube, a weird thing that Atsushi never saw before, and it takes him a few seconds of staring to realize that it is food. That may be his tiger instincts, but he is sure of it.

He keeps staring at it for what seems to be a long time, before slowly grabbing it. He examines it a moment, thinking. He never saw that kind of food before... Would Kunikida be angry if he takes a bite ? But he did say that, if Atsushi was to come while he wasn't there, he could do what he wanted as long as he didn't disturb anything...

Decision taken, he brings it to his mouth when a yell startles him.

“STOP !”

Kunikida violently snatches the cube away before his lips can even brush it. Atsushi freezes, and waits for the inevitable lecture coming. Yet, when no one speaks, he takes a look at his friend's face and his eyes widen.

Kunikida looks angry, sure, but he looks even more terrified. He's staring at Atsushi like he can't quite believe that he is here, and the hand holding the cube-food is shaking. He's breathing heavily, and he doesn't say anything for a few minutes.

“Kunikida-san ?” Atsushi asks hesitantly, and that seems to wake him up. He stares at him for a second, before saying with a tone that Atsushi never heard before.

“Never eat something that looks like that. _Never_. Don't eat anything you find in my apartment. Promise me.”

“I- Yes ?”

“ _Promise me_.”

Kunikida's voice is cold, and he looks angry again so Atsushi hastily nods.

“I promise to never eat anything in your appartment !”

Kunikida's shoulders relax, and he breathes deeply.

They sit around the table, and Atsushi is given a tea on rice. He wonders if this is Kunikida's way to apologize.

He leaves and doesn't ask about the strange food, but the incident never really leaves his mind.

* * *

Kunikida never speaks of his life outside the Agency, so when Kyouka finds his door unlocked and a man in his home, she is taken aback.

She blinks, and the man blinks back. He's wearing black trousers, a white T-shirt with a black sun on it, and a black leather bomber jacket. He seems to be around thirty, and has black hair that looks like he just got out of bed, messy and shaggy, and his skin is by far the most white Kyouka has ever seen.

Most importantly, he has a sword at his side.

The man blinks again, and asks her.

“Hello. Are you one of Doppo's friends ?”

Kyouka narrows her eyes at the casual use of her senior's first name.

“That's none of your business. Who are you and how do you know Kunikida-san ?”

The man doesn't look surprised by her answer. He nods, eyes almost approving, and says.

“You can say I'm family. And I'm here to invite him to McDonald's. But since you're here, I'll come back later.”

The unexpected answer stops her for a few seconds, and the strange man uses it to vanish in the shadows.

_An ability-user ?_ She thinks, startled.

She asks Kunikida later on, if this suspicious man really is his family. Kunikida sighs heavily before saying.

“Yes. Don't worry about him.”

He doesn't say anything else, and Kyouka is left wondering.

* * *

“Is that a knife ?”

Kunikida kicks him for this question, but Dazai feels fairly justified in his curiosity. He never took his partner to be the kind of person hiding deadly weapon. He barely managed to glance at it, but he's pretty sure he never saw that kind of weapon before. It's golden, an if that wasn't weird enough, is carved in a way Dazai never saw before. This knife is definitely strange.

“My, Kunikida-kun, I never thought you would be so daring !”

He dodges another kick, smile still firmly in place even as his mind is racing. Nobody mentionned that Kunikida knew how to wield that kind of weapons, and there's no reason for him to carry it around, especially when their job hadn't required fighting.

“Ne~, can I see it ?”

“No !”

Dazai doesn't see the knife again despite his insistance and his attempts to steal it. But he's more attentive around his partner.

_Guess there's more to you than I first thought, Kunikida-kun~_

* * *

“You're not really human, are you ?”

Ranpo's question is casual, but he's careful to wait until they're alone in the office. Kunikida spits out his drink caughing, and gives him a wide-eyed glare. Ranpo isn't impressed.

“I mean, you're at least partially human, but there's something else, right ?”

Kunikida doesn't answer, eyes down, before asking.

“Does that bother you ?”

He doesn't ask how the detective knows, which is good because he wouldn't have told him anyways. Ranpo smiles brightly, and exclaims.

“Don't be stupid ! I want to know everything !”

Kunikida sighs again, but starts speaking.

* * *

“President ?”

Fukuzawa looks up from his papers and questions silently his student. Kunikida grimaces, and whispers slowly.

“There's something I want to tell you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it ! What did you think ? Do you have any ideas on what could happen ? I'm thinking of Arahabaki meeting him, or Apollo crashing his son's office looking like a teenager... If you have any idea, share it in the comments !


	3. Chapter 3

Kunikida is wary of Lovecraft.

He doesn't quite know how to explain it. There's something about him that makes alarms ring in his head. It's the kind of alarms he used to hear daily before he came to Yokohama, the kind every half-bloods learn to listen to.

_This man_ , he realizes, _is not a normal human._

He doesn't dare to waste time thinking about it. Tanizaki is fighting besides him, and even if he didn't need his help, Kunikida isn't careless and won't ask questions that mortals won't understand. Ranpo and Fukuzawa may know about his not-exactly-humans origins, but that doesn't mean he wants the others to figure it out. Two is already too much. So while everything about Lovecraft raise red flags, he chooses to ignore it.

The choice is taken from him when he and Tanizaki get trapped in Lovecraft's tentacles.

Steinbeck and Tanizaki are talking about siblings, and while Kunikida wants to reassure his colleague that everything will be alright, his opponent's eyes pine him in place.

Lovecraft's head tilts, eyes too wide open and fixed on the demigod. There's something unnatural about it, about _him_ , and now the possibilities of him being a half-blood are really down. That does not reassure Kunikida in the slightlest.

He doesn't speak, but Lovecraft does.

“You are of divine blood.”

Kunikida's heart stops, and he briefly glances at Tanizaki to see him still engrossed in his conversation with Steinbeck. Usually this would anger him, the fact that his friend isn't paying attention to his surroundings, but right now he is grateful.

He's still going to yell at him once they get out of this mess though.

“What are you ?” he finally asks, voice barely above a whisper, but Lovecraft hears it anyway. His head tilts again, and his neck had to hurt in this position, but he doesn't show any sign of pain.

“I am not one of yours.” he says, which doesn't answer any of Kunikida's questions. The man(?) frowns, eyes wandering in the sky. “This could be a problem... Fitzgerald didn't specify in the contract there would be any god's child...”

His eyes stay fixed on Kunikida like he's some sort of complex puzzle. He recoils sightly at that, or tries to while trapped in the tentacles. It doesn't really work.

And then a truck crash into them, and all his questions are put aside.

* * *

Will and Nico exchange a glance once Kunikida finished to explain what happened. His brother looks worried, but Nico seems more thoughtful than anything else.

“Dazai said that his ability didn't work on him-” and his partner seemed rather surprised and suspicious when he asked that question, and Kunikida really hopes he's not going to investigate, “-so I don't think he has an ability. At first, I thought he was another demigod working with the Guild but...”

He pauses, uneasy. He doesn't know how to explain his feelings when facing Lovecraft. It wasn't like meeting a god though it was close, because Kunikida never felt like this the few times he talked to his father. Lovecraft, if this was possible, seemed even more dangerous than the God of the Sun.

Will frowns, his hands playing with his glass of water. Slowly, he asks more to his husband than his little brother.

“You think he may be a titan ? That may be why he felt so different.”

“Why would a titan work with humans ?” Kunikida says, puzzled, and Will sighs and shrugs.

“I think he's a god.” Nico answers, brows furrowed “But I don't know what kind. I never heard of a god working with humans. Well, besides Apollo, but that's another story. You said he talked about a contract ?”

“Yes, one he made with Fitzgerald, the head of the Guild. They're from America.”

Nico and Will blink, sharing the same startled expression. Will mumbles.

“He must be from another pantheon... But I don't know which. We're not exactly close to others.”

Another silence falls, the three demigods lost in their thoughts.

“Well,” Kunikida whispers “I hope to never see him again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, but I hope you liked it ! I didn't read any of Lovecraft's books (I know, shame on me) but he strikes me more as a godlike person than the gods in Riordan's books.
> 
> A part of me wants Loveraft to say to Chuuya during their fight “Oh, another human linked with a god...” and Soukoku freaking out xD I may include it if you guys want. Tell me in the comments !


	4. Chapter 4

Kunikida knows this is going to be a bad day as soon as he's awake.

The sun is bright outside, and he's awake before his alarm, so he shouldn't have to worry about anything. He eats his breakfeast and gets ready to go to the agency with steady hands and a racing mind. Something is off, terribly off in a way that feels awfully familiar, but he doesn't know what.

It's not until he's outside and walking to the station that he thinks: _Ah,_ _this is going to be one of these days._

The alarms ringing in his head are strange and familiar in a way that makes him feel ill. He hadn't felt like that in a long time, but he recognizes it. It's the kind of feelings every half-bloods have to learn if they want to survive.

There's a monster nearby.

Kunikida was 20 the last time a monster came to Yokohama, and he almost forgot what it felt like to have the gaze of someone wishing his death on his neck. It almost feels nostalgic.

He is on his guard all the way to his work, and when he finally sees the building he hesitates to turn back. It would be easy, he'd just say he was sick and tell Fukuazwa the truth the following day. The others would be suspicious -Dazai already is anyway, since he saw Kunikida's knife hidden in his jacket- but they would get over it. It would be easy.

But it would completely destroy his schredule, and Kunikida never did things easy anyway. He is a half-blood, after all.

So he enters the office as usual and sits to his desk with a greeting to his colleagues. None of them notices the tightness of his jaw, too busy with whatever they are doing, and even Dazai just waves, head buried in his book instead of working.

_At least he's not bothering anyone._ Kunikida thinks, and stays silent. He would usually tell his partner to work, or at least pretend to, but he can't bring himself to do it. He's busy looking at the window, in the streets, trying to make sense of how wrong everything feels.

He forgot what it was like, to have his instincts flare up while no one could feel the danger. His colleagues are fighters, and he became used to have them sensing the threat, at his back, but they are also humans. They didn't get it. They never will.

It feels strangely lonely.

The morning goes well and it only makes him more uncomfortable. He twitches at the slightest noise, and the others notice and send him worried glances. He ignores them.

Finally, they leave for a case.

Atsushi is walking behind him, listening to something Dazai is saying. They both glance at him, expecting him to interrupt at any moment, but he doesn't.

“You're awfully tense, Kunikida-kun!” Dazai eventually says, smiling, “Something on your mind?”

Kunikida stares at him flatly. “Nothing that concerns you.”

“How rude!”

They banter all the way to the client's house. When they finally arrive at the old-looking building, overgrown with plants and vines, they only find a dusty door and an even more dusty floor.

“Maybe it was a prank?” Atsushi guesses after walking through the house and finding no sign of life, “Those happen, right?”

“Sometimes.” Kunikida agrees reluctantly. “”But those are often identified as such.” Moreover, this place still feels off, and a look at Dazai tells him that his partner agrees.

“Someone called about a monster hiding in the house, right?” the younger man continues, “Maybe it was just some wild animal.”

“Sounds familiar, right, Atsushi-kun?” Dazai says with a teasing smile, and the were-tiger blushes, sheepish.

Kunikida frowns, and his eyes fall on a door half-open. There's light inside the room, and his heart suddenly starts beating faster.

“Look-” he starts to call, and all hell breaks loose.

The door next to him explodes, and Kunikida has barely time to take cover behind a strong and solid-looking furniture. Windows shatter around him, and for a few seconds his ears ring too loudly and he can't hear anything even if he can still see clearly.

He looks quickly around him, but neither Dazai or Atsushi are in sight, probably still outside. Which doesn't make sense, because the explosion wasn't that strong and just really loud and they should have heard something-

“Oooh! Look at that!”

Kunikida freezes and jumps up, only to finds himself face to face with a young man, smiling nervously at him and standing in the doorway, somehow unscratched despite what just happened. He looks around the house in bewilderment, and sends a worried glance at the detective.

“Hi!” the young man says, “Are you okay? I heard the explosion-”

He never finishes his sentence. Kunikida's knife slices through his throat like butter, and he looks stupefied before his unique eye gleams with understanding, his face morphing in inhuman anger.

“ _Fucking half-bloo_ -”

He dissolves to dust, and Kunikida forces himself to breath.

_Cyclops_ , he thinks, and his heart sinks. He knows they tend to be in group, and he turns away from the pile of dust and races across the house.

_Where are they?!_ he thinks, worried. He's not sure who he is thinking of, Dazai and Atsushi or the remaining cyclops, but he needs to find them in any case. His colleagues should have come back after hearing the explosion, and he's not sure if this is a good thing.

After a few doors, he finally finds what was probably a bedroom. He enters cautiously, his instincts ringing, and briefly has time to see the blood stains on the walls before dodging the baseball aiming at his head.

An unique eye stares down at him, frowning. The cyclops slips away when Kunikida tries to aim for his eye. He looks older than the one before, covered in blood and an insane smile blossoms as he stares at the half-blood in confusion, like he can't quite believe what he is seeing.

“But you're so _old_.” he mutters, and Kunikida isn't sure if he should feel offended or proud.

He chooses to decide later and grips his knife tighter before charging.

It's been a long time since he fought against monsters, but instincts never really die, and he remembers that using a celestial weapon is far more effective than his ability.

He's winning, and he's about to cut through the monster when a sream makes him waver.

“Kunikida-san!” Atsushi yells, and he tackles him.

“ _What are you doing?!_ ” he hisses, but the were-tiger only stares at him with wide eyes.

“Why are you attacking it? It's defenseless!”

“But-” he starts, wondering how can he not see the one eye, the blood stains and the rest of clearly human skeletons before freezing.

_The Mist._

“Let go! I'll explain later!” he tries, but Atsushi doesn't let go, looking both worried and terrified. Kunikida wonders what he is seeing, and the cyclops laughs softly.

That's when a gunshot is fired and the cyclops flinches, gripping his shoulder.

“Dazai-san!” Atsushi calls, and the man looks at his protegee and shares a glance with his partner. He's standing in the corridor, out of reach, but Kunikida knows his partner wouldn't miss. He nods, and Dazai smiles.

“Well, if Kunikida-kun says so!” he sings, and fires another gunshot in the cyclops' shoulder. However, the monster doesn't fall, just wavers a bit before glaring at Kunikida.

“You should know that something like that doesn't work on us, _hero_.” he says mockingly, and to Kunikida's horror his eye falls on Atsushi, a wicked grin on his face.

“No-” he tries to say, and this time when he pushes the boy off him he doesn't resist, looking between Dazai and Kunikida with confusion and guilt, not knowing what to do. The Mist must be making the cyclops looks armless or hurt or something, and Kunikida grits his teeth.

Knife in hand, he turns to the cyclops, and hesitates. Dazai and Atsushi are right there, and if he kills a seemingly normal human in front of them there will be questions, and he doesn't know what he's supposed to do. Dazai's ability won't be much of help -at least he thinks- and even if Atsushi's works, he doesn't want to burden him. It has to be him, but-

But then the cyclops walks towards them, he doesn't have a choice anymore.

He gets up fast, knife in hand, and breathes before aiming at his eye-

When the cyclops brutally trips over vines. He tries to get up but stop suddenly, frozen. Terror flashes in his eyes, and Kunikida blinks, confused, before realizing what is happening. He lets go of his knife in his stupor.

The vines around the cyclops' legs tighten, and Atsushi scrumbles to his feet and rushes towards him too late.

The cracks make them flinch and the cyclops lets out an horrified scream as his legs break under the pressure. He yells again and again until he starts cackling madly, tears running down his face.

Dazai approaches quickly and grabs a vine, but it only pushes him away before gripping its victim's neck. Shock passes through his face before hiding it away.

Kunikida closes his eyes and forces Atsushi to turn away.

There's an horrible sound, and silence. He waits a few minutes before smelling something like sulfur and opens his eyes.

The vines doesn't move anymore, and there's no one in their grasp.

There's a long silence before Atsushi speaks up.

“What kind of animal was that?!”

“Animal?” Kunikida repeats, incredulous.

“It looked like a monkey and-”

Atsushi continues to speak, but Kunikida tunes him out before laughing. He ignores his friends' looks.

_The wonders of the Mist._

“It may have been a very strange looking animal.” he agrees, but Dazai's eyes narrow.

“That doesn't explain why it turned to dust, or those vines.”

Kunikida hides a grimace, but nods, because he doesn't know what those vines were either.

(Well, he has an idea, but it's ridiculous.)

“Let's check the place to see if there's anything else.” he proposes, and they nod.

He feels Dazai's eyes on his back the whole day.

* * *

“A monster?” Fukuzawa asks again, and Kunikida nods.

“Yes. That's why I wanted to leave so soon.”

The President stares, but nods. He never asked much about Kunikida's origins beyond what he already explained that first time, but there's curiosity in his gaze.

“I trust you then.” he simply says, and Kunikida doesn't know whether to feel flattered or guilty.

On his way back to his apartment, a thought crosses his mind, the same one he had about those vines. Once home and with the door locked behind him, he decides to make a call.

He's not a fan of Iris Messages, but he can't help but smiles when his sister's face appears in the air. She blinks, confused, before seeing him.

“Doppo!” Kayla Knowles greets him with a warm smile, “How is my baby brother? It's been a while since you called me.”

“I know.” he says, sheepish, “Sorry about that.”

Kayla waves his apology away. “Don't worry about it. How's work? I heard weird things from Will, something about meeting a strange god.”

He thinks of Lovecraft and grimaces. “Something like that, yes. How is everyone?”

“Great. We still haven't met new siblings. I think Dad's time as a mortal calmed him down or something. You're still the baby sibling.”

Kunikida grimaces, because this is something his half-siblings love to bring up, but decides not to complain.

“How's Chiron and Mr.D?”

Kayla blinks, surprised. “Fine, I guess. Why'd you ask?”

Kunikida thinks back to the vines strangling the cyclops. “No reason in particular.”

* * *

Away in Yokohama, Dazai smiles, and looks at what he managed to steal- borrow from his partner.

A golden knife shines in his hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I hope you liked it! What do you think? Tell me in the comments!

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long time since I read any of Rick Riordan's books, so forgive me if there is any mistake ! Also, if you have any idea for the title please tell me ! I hope you liked it


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